The Westside Vineyard is part of a larger family of churches called the Vineyard Movement. This family is made up of over 600 Vineyard congregations in the US and 2,400+ in 95 countries with common values and distinctives.

A few months ago, the National Director of the Vineyard, Phil Strout, sensed the invitation from God to invite all Vineyard churches into a time of prayer and fasting and discerning together.

Together we want to stand at the crossroads, to hear from God about what’s next in each of our lives, our churches, and for our movement as a whole. This is not a crisis, rather a cool opportunity for us to ask God together what he’s up to.

The Holy Spirit highlighted Jeremiah 6:16a:

The invitation is for 40 days of prayer and fasting leading up to the Vineyard National Conference from Monday, May 27 – Friday, July 5, 2019.

“Stand at the crossroadsand look;ask for the ancient paths,ask where the good way is,and walk in it,and you will find rest for your souls.”

So, what are we praying and fasting for?

The theme of the 40 Days Of Prayer & Fasting is to gather around the Kingdom Prayer the Church has prayed in many forms for two thousand years – Come, Holy Spirit. We’ll specifically be asking for him to speak to us about 3 areas:

Your personal life (10 days)

Your local church and community (10 days)

Our Vineyard family of churches across the country (20 days)

ABOUT PRAYER & FASTING

The Bible is full of promises about prayer – prayer rooted in the belief that God hears us, answers us, and invites us to participate in the answers He lovingly gives.

In the Old Testament, we see this promise: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven…” (2 Chronicles 7:14a). In the New Testament, we see this invitation to pray: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).

In other words, the God of Jesus, the God of the Scriptures, hears and answers prayer! There is no prayer too big, no prayer too small, to pray – especially if our greatest desire is to see the will of God be done here “…on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-13).

In the Bible, prayer is sometimes accompanied by fasting. Fasting is willingly doing without food, or a portion of food, for a set period of time, in order to invest our energies and focus in prayer. One does not need to fast to pray with hope and intensity, but it can be a helpful spiritual rhythm to add to our experience of God in prayer (please see the Fasting Basics resource where you downloaded this Guide for more detailed information on this practice, and talk to a physician before attempting any type of fast).

However you choose to pray and fast, it is exciting that you’ve joined in for these 40 days of prayer and fasting as we say “Come, Holy Spirit” – in our personal lives, in the life of our local church, and in the life of the Vineyard Movement!

HOW TO PRAY THROUGH THE 40 DAYS

This Participant’s Guide has been created to help you join in the 40 Days Of Prayer & Fasting with guided daily themes and Scriptures to ground and inspire your prayers.

HOW SHOULD I PRAY?

This “season” of prayer and fasting covers 40 days, and it might be helpful to have some structure – like a scaffolding – to hang your prayers on as you go.

We suggest that, each day as you come to prayer, you may want to follow a simple, 4-step process inspired by Jeremiah 6:16a based on the words stand, look, ask, and walk:

STAND – Take 30 seconds of silence or worship to become aware of the presence of JesusLOOK – Pray the prayer, “Come, Holy Spirit” and read the daily ScriptureASK – Pray the Prayer Prompts for each day with confidenceWALK – Read the Responding to God section, act as led, and say “Thank You, Holy Spirit” for guiding your time

3 AREAS OF PRAYER

This Guide will lead you through welcoming the Holy Spirit as you partner with God in prayer in 3 areas: